As I mentioned in an earlier post, we are being followed by storms and a volcano is erupting. Cool! So now we get to the island where the actions is! Mt. Merapi is on the rampage near Semarang on the island of Java. But of course none of us is really paying any attention. Every now and then a report runs through the ship and that the volcano erupted but this info was rarely verified.
We decided to take a tour to Borabudur by motor coach. I hate these bus rides but what can you do. And this was no different except that we were escorted by police – one in front and one in back. This turned out to be really good later in the day. Our first stop was a coffee plantation but we had a really awful guide who tried to speak English but there were no words we could understand. So we know nothing about what we saw on the ride up or anything about the coffee plantation. Surprise! There were things to buy! We did notice the very pretty terraced rice paddies and the people were very kind and happy.
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The great part of the journey tho was the actual temple itself. It was built in the 8th century by Buddhist Kings of the Sailendra Dynasty.How it stands today, without the use of modern engineering and technology remains a mystery. It was only uncovered 1000 years later hidden under dense jungle. There is no mortar or cement to hold perfectly designed blocks of stone, which fit so precisely that you cannot slip a piece of paper in between. We were as impressed by this amazing structure as we were by the pyramids in Egypt. Borabudur is the largest single monument in the Southern Hemisphere. When we arrived however, we were given masks to protect our faces due to the ashes of Mt. Merapi, which you could see in the distance and in fact, had erupted the day before. We learned that the day after we had been there it also erupted again. I guess we were meant to stay alive for the whole trip!
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As I mentioned earlier, we had the mad hatters drive back to the ship. This time we were in caravan with 6 other buses and 3 police escorts traveling at excessive speeds. We were led through every red light without stopping then straying into the opposite lane facing oncoming traffic. Fortunately, they were stopped for us. We felt like royalty and of course we are.
After all the excitement of the day we still had to get dressed up for Halloween. Which we did – as Zorro and the Senora. We were quite a hit and the party in the Crow’s Nest was fantastic. Everyone came in outrageous costumes and the crew created a fabulous atmosphere! We partied till early morning and talked about it for days.
Tomorrow we are off to a few restful days at sea and then next stop – Komodo Island – where the dragons are.
Hugs to all,
Maryann
